Easy Rider represents the journey and the struggle that the whole nation was undergoing through that transitional period. The journey of the characters in Easy Rider parallels the cultural journey of American society, setting off imbedded in capitalist fervor and the promise which such an economic system offers, then, almost disillusioned by this potential, exploring the possibilities of unadulterated freedom and the alternative approaches to living therein, and ending, with none of this potential ever coming to fruition. The only thing discovered by these characters is the greater possibility for discovery itself. This is much like the time period in which the film embodies; the sixties were ripe with new ideas and ways of thinking, yet lacking in actually lasting political alterations......
The open road in this film is used as a motif representing boundless opportunity. This metaphor is turned on its head where it becomes the setting for the tragic end of the film and the death of the two main characters. They die, while still struggling to realize there dreams. "We blew it man" represents an introspective commentary on the idealized dream realized. Yet only in a symbolic sense, in the narrative of the film, a goal is achieved, but the nature of this achievement seems to fall short in the face of the possibilities opened up during the beginning of the film.
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